Al Golden impressed with Hurricanes after first spring scrimmage

MIAMI — Miami coach Al Golden Golden is wary of making any proclamations in late March. Sure, his Hurricanes looked crisp in their first scrimmage of the spring Saturday at Traz Powell Stadium, and yes, the new coaches melded in well in the dress rehearsal for the Hurricanes' spring game. Was it good to see some young players stand out? Absolutely. But in his three years at the helm in Miami, he's learned not to drown his team in a sea of praise, because increased expectations inevitably follow.

"I'm excited about where we are," Golden said. "We've got a long way to go. I've learned to be careful around here, but we had a good first scrimmage — that's it...But that's why we come out here. It's gotta be different, it can't just be another practice everyone has to be tested, me included."

"We had a test today, and now we have to all go back and grade it, be fair, have a little autopsy and get ready to go on Tuesday."

Quarterback Stephen Morris completed 17-31 passes overall, but only thew one touchdown to two interceptions in the full-field 11-on-11 sessions. Running back Duke Johnson was limited Saturday, but he did gain 100 all-purpose yards (55 yards rushing on 10 carries, 45 yards on two receptions).

Sophomore receiver Herb Waters stood out with his mercurial Saturday. Waters was Morris' favorite target, as he caught four passes for 40 yards and that sole touchdown, but he also had three drops.

Offensive coordinator James Coley opted to look at Water's day in an optimistic manner — Waters was only able to drop those passes because he was open all day.

"He got open a lot. God, he looked fast," Coley said.

Golden was equally impressed. Waters started the Hurricanes last two games of the season in 2012, and he's done little to relinquish that starting job.

"He came on really strong as the year went on...He's carried that over," Golden said. "We are are surprised at his change in direction and his ability to make people miss in the open field. He's labeled as a big receiver, he's going to be a big kid, but he did a nice job of making people miss."

Waters didn't read into his fingertip struggles either. It was just one of those days, he said, and he's certain that the coaches will have them doing extra work to make sure those same errors don't happen in Miami's 2013 season opener on Aug. 31.

The Hurricanes coaching staff will also have some self-evaluation to do before the team's Tuesday practice. Golden welcomed three new assistant coaches to the team in off-season and Saturday's scrimmage was the first time they've worked together in a game-like atmosphere.

Those new hires include Coley, as well as tight ends coach Larry Scott and running backs coach Hurlie Brown. On top of that, Saturday was Brendan Carroll's first scrimmage as the team's wide receivers coach.

"Everybody had a different role," Golden said. "I thought they did a good job with it, but they're like the players — they'll be better when we go to Naples on April 5."

The Miami coaching staff planned to run 50 plays for the starters and 15 plays for both the second and third strings, with some special teams and goal-line work bringing the total to 100 snaps. The Hurricanes hit that number in less than 90 minutes, but the brisk pace was a good sign to the head coach.

"I think we were ahead of the schedule and we just stayed ahead of schedule," Golden said. "If we hit the number, and we're crisp and we're doing it right, we want to get out of there."

After seeing the way his players were hitting Saturday, it's no surprise that the coach wanted to get out of there.

Freshman linebacker Alex Figueroa laid a get-out-of-your-seat, gasp-inducting hit on Johnson on the scrimmage's third snap. Johnson responded by knocking a defender’s mouth guard 15 feet into the air during a gang tackle.

Golden didn't mind the hard hits.

"You have to [hit hard], because, if you don't you're going to get banged up," Golden said. "We try to compartmentalize our contact [during practice], but when you come out here, there's only one way to play the game."